Education in the health sciences

Finding literature

Bibliographic databases - Education

These databases focus on Education generally (with the exception of MedEd Central). When searching, be sure to include concepts relating to medicine, or the health sciences, unless you are interested in the broader literature.

• ERIC
• MedEd Central (Replaces TIMELIT - Topics in Medical Education). This database includes references to research articles, books, and conference papers, and also serves as a directory of medical schools, courses, and organizations.
• Campbell Library (The Campbell Collaboration Library of Systematic Reviews) - For systematic reviews of social and educational interventions.
• British Education Index

Bibliographic databases - Health

These bibliographic databases should be searched using terms representing educational programs, groups of students (e.g., undergraduate, nursing), and/or the educational intervention or topic of interest (e.g., portfolio assessment, academic integrity).

• PubMed
• Ovid MEDLINE (1950-)
• CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature)
• EMBASE - The complementary database to MEDLINE. EMBASE includes references to additional research published in European and Asian countries.
• PsycINFO

Expert search strategies in PubMed (MEDLINE)

• Teaching and learning by the health professional - These are pre-constructed search strategies on selected topics in medical education designed by librarians at the University of Toronto. They are a good way to begin a search in a new area, or to keep current on a given topic of interest.

Journals in health education

• Academic Emergency Medicine
• Academic Medicine
• Advances in Health Sciences Education
• BMC Medical Education
• Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology
• Canadian Medical Education Journal
• The Clinical Teacher
• European Journal of Dental Education
• International Journal of Medical Education
• Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions
• Journal of Dental Education
• Journal of Medical Education
• Journal of Online Learning & Teaching (JOLT)
• Learning in Health and Social Care
• Medical Education
• Medical Education Development
• Medical Education Online
• Medical Teacher
• Nurse Education in Practice
• Nurse Education Today
• Nurse Educator
• Nurse Education Perspectives
• The Open Medical Education Journal
• Pédagogie médicale
• Rehabilitation Education
• Teaching and Learning in Medicine
• Teaching and Learning in Nursing

Article series

• BMJ "Teaching Rounds"
• BMJ "What the Educators are Saying"
• BMJ "ABC of Learning and Teaching in Medicine"
• JAMA Medical Education - JAMA publishes a theme issue on Medical Education every year in the first issue of September; this issue can be found via this link but includes articles from all issues.

Learning object repositories

• Clinical Skills Online - St. George's University of London Educational Technology Unit
• Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Undergraduate Medical Education Digital Resource Repository
• Health Education Assets Library (HEAL) (requires registration)
• HealthLibrary.ca - McGill Molson Medical Informatics
• MedEdPORTAL: Providing online resources to advanced learning in medical education
• National Information Center for Educational Media (NICEM) (subscription required; McGill does not subscribe)
• Primal Pictures (coming soon!)
• Universities' Collaboration in eLearning: Resources - Images and moving images
• University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Learning Objects: Collections

Curricula, cases and continuing education tools

• AAMC - Curriculum Management & Information Tool (CurrMIT)
• Resource Section Curricula
• BMJ Learning
• PATSy - Patient Assessment Training System
• Tough Talk: Helping Doctors Approach Difficult Conversations
• WebPath: The Internet Pathology Laboratory
• Meducation

Health education organizations

• AFMC: Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada / Association des facultés de médecine du Canada
• AAMC - Association of American Medical Colleges / Medical Education
• Association for Medical Education in Europe
• The Association for Surgical Education
• BEME Collaboration - individuals or institutions who are committed to the promotion of Best Evidence Medical Education.
• CAME - ACEM (Canadian Association of Medical Education - L'Association canadienne pour l'éducation médicale)
• Foundation for Advancement of International Education and Research
• International Association of Medical Science Educators
• Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME)
• Society of Directors of Research in Medical Education (SDRME)
• Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education

The contents of this guide are selective and by no means represent all the resources available on the topic of education in the health sciences. If you have questions about a specific resource's quality or scope, or if you have suggestions for additions to the guide, please contact the liaison librarian.